Electronic apparatus

ABSTRACT

The electronic apparatus includes a base member, a rotatable operation member, a clicking member rotatable together with the rotatable operation member, an exterior member disposed between the base and rotatable operation members, a switching operation member provided with an operation knob and movable between first and second positions, a pressing member and a contact, member both held by the base member, the pressing member being biased toward the clicking member, the contact member being biased toward the switching operation member to contact the switching operation member, and a stopper member movable together with the switching operation member. When the switching operation member is located at the first position, the pressing member contacts the concave and convex portions. When the switching operation member is located at the second position, the pressing member contacts the stopper member and held away from the concave and convex portions.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 15/381,758,filed Dec. 16, 2016, the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to electronic apparatuses such as digitalstill cameras and digital video cameras, and particularly to anelectronic apparatus including a rotatable operation member that isrotatably operable.

Description of the Related Art

Some electronic apparatuses are known, such as one disclosed in JapanesePatent Laid-Open No. 05-011163, each including a rotatable operationmember such as an operation ring that is rotatably operable about a lensbarrel provided on a front (object side) face of its apparatus body. Auser's manual operation of that rotatable operation member enableszooming and focusing.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-008970 discloses acamera in which image capturing parameters such as a shutter speed, anF-number and an image capturing sensitivity are selectable by rotationoperations of such a rotatable operation member. This camera provides amechanism that generates click feeling for the rotation operation of therotatable operation member so as to make it easy to set the imagecapturing parameters. However, the generation of the click feeling foreach rotational operation of the rotatable operation member may causeclick sounds to be recorded in motion image capturing.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-169786 discloses acamera switchable between a clicking state of generating click feelingfor an operation of a rotatable operation member provided in aninterchangeable lens and a non-clicking state of generating no clickfeeling. In this camera, the clicking state and the non-clicking statecan be switched by a user's rotation of a switching operation portionexposed in the interchangeable lens detached from a camera body by usinga tool such as a screw driver.

However, the camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.2015-169786 requires a detachment of the interchangeable lens from thecamera body for rotating the switching operation portion to switchbetween the clicking state and the non-clicking state. In addition, thiscamera requires the tool for rotating the switching operation portion.Accordingly, the user cannot easily switch between the clicking stateand the non-clicking state.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an electronic apparatus in which a usercan more easily switch between generation and non-generation of clickfeeling for rotation operations of a rotatable operation member.

The present invention provides as an aspect thereof an electronicapparatus including a base member, a rotatable operation member disposedoutside the base member and rotatable with respect to the base member, aclicking member disposed inside the base member, rotatable together withthe rotatable operation member and having concave and convex portionsarranged in a circumferential direction, an exterior member disposedbetween the base member and the rotatable operation member and having ashape extending in the circumferential direction, a switching operationmember provided with an operation knob located at an outer circumferenceof the exterior member and movable with respect to the base memberbetween a first position and a second position in the circumferentialdirection, a pressing member and a contact member both held by the basemember, the pressing member being biased toward the clicking member, thecontact member being biased toward the switching operation member tocontact the switching operation member, and a stopper member movabletogether with the switching operation member with respect to the basemember. When the switching operation member is located at the firstposition, the pressing member contacts the concave and convex portions,and when the switching operation member is located at the secondposition, the pressing member contacts the stopper member and held at aposition away from the concave and convex portions.

Further features and aspects of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments withreference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front side perspective view of a digital camera that isEmbodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear side perspective view of a digital camera ofEmbodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front side perspective view of a front cover unit of thedigital camera of Embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a rear side perspective view of the front cover unit.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the front cover unit.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the front cover unit and a sectional viewillustrating a click switching mechanism and therearound in a click-ONstate in Embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the front cover unit and a sectional viewillustrating the click switching mechanism and therearound in aclick-OFF state in Embodiment.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are sectional views respectively illustrating the clickswitching mechanism and therearound in the click-ON state and theclick-OFF state in Embodiment.

FIGS. 9A to 9C are front side and rear side perspective views of theclick switching mechanism and therearound in Embodiment.

FIG. 10A and 10B are front view and a side view of the front cover unitin Embodiment.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are exploded perspective views of the front cover unitand a barrel cover in Embodiment.

FIG. 12A and 12B are front, enlarged front and side views of the frontcover unit in Embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view illustrating a sheet-metal member andtherearound of the front cover unit in Embodiment.

FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate electric conductive paths in the frontcover unit in Embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a digital camera (hereinafter simply referred to as“a camera”) as an electronic apparatus that is an embodiment of thepresent invention; the camera is obliquely viewed from an object side(hereinafter referred to as “a front side”). FIG. 2 illustrates thecamera obliquely viewed from an imaging surface side (hereinafterreferred to as “a rear side”).

The camera 1 is provided, in its front part, with a zoom lens barrelunit 3 and an operation ring 201 that is a rotatable operation member.The lens barrel unit 3 houses thereinside an image capturing opticalsystem. The operation ring 201 is rotatable around an outercircumference of the lens barrel unit 3. A user's rotation operation ofthe operation ring 201 changes image capturing functions or imagecapturing parameters. In the following description, a circumferentialdirection of the lens barrel unit 3 and a rotation direction of theoperation ring 201 are referred to as “a circumferential direction” inthe camera 1. The camera 1 further provided thereinside with an imagesensor 5 that photoelectrically converts an object image (optical image)formed by the image capturing optical system to produce an image signal.

A front face of the camera 1 is covered by a front cover (exterior covermember) 207.

Near the operation ring 201, specifically at an outer circumference of abarrel cover (exterior member) 202 provided between the operation ring201 and the front cover 205, an operation knob 207 a of a switchinglever (switching operation member) 207 later described is provided. Auser's operation of the operation knob 207 a to move it in thecircumferential direction along an outer circumferential face of thebarrel cover 202 enables switching between a click-ON state ofgenerating click feeling with the rotation operation of the operationring 201 and a click-OFF state of generating no click feeling.

On a top face of the camera 1, various operation members are provided.Specifically, a power button 101, a release button 102, a zoom lever103, a mode dial 104 for switching image capturing modes and an exposurecorrection dial 105 for setting an exposure correction value.Furthermore, on a top of the camera 1, a flash unit 106 whose lightemitting portion can pop up from the top face of the camera is provided.A user's operation of a flash lever 107 provided on a side face of thecamera 1 causes the light emitting portion of the flash unit 106 to popup. A front cover unit 2 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes the operationring 201, the barrel cover 202, a front grip (grip member) 203, thefront cover 205 and a click switching mechanism including the switchinglever 207.

On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 2, on a rear face of thecamera 1, a display 109, a display support 108 that supports the display109 so as to allow its tilt, various operation members 110 and a reargrip 111 are provided. On the side face of the camera 1, a communicationbutton (not illustrated) and electric terminals (covered by a terminalcover 107) for connecting the camera 1 to external devices are provided.

Next, description will be made of a configuration of the front coverunit 2 to which the switching lever 207 is assembled, with referring toFIGS. 3 to 5. FIG. 3 illustrates the front cover unit 2 obliquely viewedfrom the front side (outer face side), and FIG. 4 illustrates the frontcover unit 2 obliquely viewed from the rear side (inner face side). FIG.5 is an exploded view of the front cover unit 2.

The front cover unit 2 includes a base member 208, the operation ring201, a clicking plate (clicking member) 220, the barrel cover 202, thefront grip 203 and the front cover 205. Furthermore, the front coverunit 2 includes the click switching mechanism including the switchinglever 207 and includes two rotation detectors 216 a.

The rotation detectors 216 a are each constituted by, as illustrated inFIG. 4, a photo interrupter that detects boundaries in the clickingplate 220 between cutout portions (concave portions) 220 a formed in thecircumferential direction at equal intervals and convex portions 220 bformed between cutout portions. The two rotation detectors 216 a aremounted on a flexible wiring board 216 and each output bright and darksignals in response to the detection of the boundaries. Using the brightand dark signals enables calculating a rotation direction and a speed ofthe clicking plate 220 (that is, of the operation ring 201 integrallyrotatable with the clicking plate 220 as described later). The clickswitching mechanism is constituted by, as illustrated in FIG. 5, theswitching lever 207, a ball (contact member) 210, a spring (biasingmember) 211, a follower pin (pressing member) 212 and a stopper plate(stopper member) 213.

Description will be made of a configuration and an assembling procedureof the front cover unit 2 with referring to FIG. 5. The base member 208as a backbone of the front cover unit 2 includes thereinside a barrelholding portion 208 e and a front face 208 f. The barrel holding portion208 e has a ring-like shape in which a barrel opening 208 g for exposethe lens barrel unit 3 is formed. The front face 208 f is formed onright and left sides of the barrel holding portion 208 e. The frontcover 205 is fixed to the front face 208 f with a double-stick tape 206.Furthermore, the front grip 203 temporarily fixed to a front face of thefront cover 205 with a double-stick tape 204 is fixed to the base member208 together with the front cover 205 with three screws 209 insertedfrom its rear side. The front grip 203 is formed of elastomer or thelike having a cushioning characteristic for increasing a gripping forcewhen a user's right hand grips it and covers, of the front cover 205,from a right end to a vicinity of the operation ring 201.

The switching lever 207 is assembled to the barrel holding portion 208 eof the base member 208 from the front side. The barrel cover 202 isfurther assembled to the barrel holding portion 208 e so as to sandwichthe switching lever 207 with the barrel holding portion 208 e. Theswitching lever 207 is sandwiched between the barrel holding portion 208e and the barrel cover 202 to be positioned with respect to the basemember 208 in a front-and-rear direction (that is, in an optical axisdirection of the lens barrel unit 3). The barrel cover 202 is fixed tothe base member 208 with five screws 219 inserted from its rear side.The operation knob 207 a of the switching lever 207 passes through aknob cutout portion (concave opening) 202 a formed at a circumferentialpart of the barrel cover 202 to be disposed at the outer circumferenceof the barrel cover 202. The circumferential operation of this operationknob 207 a along the outer circumferential face of the barrel cover 202as described above causes the switching lever 207 sandwiched between thebase member 208 and the barrel cover 202 to move (slide) in thecircumferential direction.

On the other hand, at a part of the barrel holding portion 208 e of thebase member 208, a through-hole portion 208 a penetrating therethroughin the front-and rear direction is formed. The ball 210, the spring 211and the follower pin 212 are inserted into this through-hole portion 208a in this order. Furthermore, the stopper plate 213 is disposed so as toface a rear end opening of the through-hole portion 208 a. Thisconfiguration connects (fixes) the stopper plate 213 to the switchingplate 207 so as to be movable together therewith. As illustrated in FIG.9C, positioning convex portions 207 e provided at two longitudinaldirection (circumferential direction) positions in the switching lever207 engage with positioning hole portions 213 f provided at longitudinalends of the stopper plate 213. Moreover, hook portions 213 a provided atthe longitudinal ends of the stopper plate 213 are hooked to protrudingportions 207 b provided at two longitudinal direction positions in theswitching lever 207.

Although this embodiment described the case where the identical spring211 biases the ball 210 and the follower pin 212 in mutually oppositedirections, a configuration may be employed such that separate springsbias them in the mutually different direction.

On the rear side further than the barrel holding portion 208 e of thebase member 208 to which the click switching mechanism is thus assembled(that is, on an opposite side to the operation ring 201 across the basemember 208), the clicking plate 220 is disposed. As illustrated in FIG.4, the clicking plate 220 is connected (fixed) to the operation ring 201so as to be movable together therewith through hook portions 220 cprovided at five circumferential positions of the clicking plate 220 andengaging with protruding portions 201 a provided at five circumferentialpositions of the operation ring 201.

To the base member 208 to which the operation ring 201 and the clickingplate 220 are thus assembled, the rotation detectors 216 a are assembledfrom an outer circumferential side (allow direction in FIG. 4). Inaddition, a holding member 217 for preventing movements of the rotationdetectors 216 a away from the base member 208 is fixed to the basemember 208 with two screws 218.

Finally, a sheet-metal member 214 is fixed to the base member 208 with ascrew 215 such that the sheet-metal member 214 contacts the front cover205, the switching lever 207 and the clicking plate 220. This completesthe assembly of the front cover unit 2. In this embodiment, the frontcover 205 and the switching lever 207 are formed of metal.

Next, detailed description will be made of the click switching mechanismwith referring to FIGS. 6 to 9C. FIG. 6 illustrates the front cover unit2 and the click switching mechanism when the switching lever 207 islocated at an operation position P1 (first position; hereinafterreferred to as “a click-ON position”) corresponding to the click-ONstate. A right drawing of FIG. 6 illustrates a section at an A-A line ina left drawing thereof. FIG. 7 illustrates the front cover unit 2 andthe click switching mechanism when the switching lever 207 is located atan operation position P2 (second position; hereinafter referred to as “aclick-OFF position”) corresponding to the click-OFF state. A rightdrawing of FIG. 7 illustrates a section at a B-B line in a left drawingthereof.

FIG. 8A is an enlarged view of part (surrounded by a broken line in theA-A section illustrated in FIG. 6) of the click switching mechanism inthe click-ON state. FIG. 8B is an enlarged view of part (surrounded by abroken line in the B-B section illustrated in FIG. 7 ) of the clickswitching mechanism in the click-OFF state. FIGS. 9A to 9C illustratethe switching lever 207, the ball 210, the spring 211, the follower pin212 and the stopper plate 213 in an intermediate state (hereinafterreferred to as “an ON/OFF intermediate state”) between the click-ONstate and the click-OFF state. In FIGS. 9A to 9C, the base member 208 isomitted.

As described above, the ball 210, the spring 211 and the follower pin212 are disposed inside the through-hole portion 208 a formed in thebarrel holding portion 208 e of the base member 208. These ball 210,spring 211 and follower pin 212 are sandwiched between the switchinglever 207 located on the front side of the barrel holding portion 208 eand the stopper plate 213 located on the rear side thereof. In such aconfiguration, a biasing force generated by the compressed spring 211biases the ball 210 toward the switching lever 207 and biases thefollower pin 212 toward the stopper plate 213 (clicking plate 220). Astopper plate (213) side end portion 212 a of the follower pin 212 isformed in a semispherical shape.

At one of two longitudinal direction positions in the switching lever207, a first concave portion 201 c 1 is formed. At another of the twolongitudinal direction positions therein, a second concave portion 207 c2 is formed. Furthermore, the switching lever 207 is provided with aguide groove portion 207 d formed so as to connect the first concaveportion 207 c 1 to the second concave portion 207 c 2. These firstconcave portion 207 c 1, second concave portion 207 c 2 and guide grooveportion 207 d are each provided with tapered faces 207 e formed so as toopen toward the ball 210.

At one of two slide direction positions (circumferential directionpositions) in the stopper plate 213 that slides together with theswitching lever 207, a large diameter hole portion (first openingportion) 213 b is formed. At another of the two slide directionpositions therein, a small diameter hole portion (second openingportion) 213 c is formed. The large diameter hole portion 213 b has aninner diameter larger than an outer diameter of the end portion 212 a ofthe follower pin 212. That is, the large diameter hole portion 213 b hassuch an inner diameter that allows the end portion 212 a to penetratetherethrough as described later.

On the other hand, the small diameter hole portion 213 c has an innerdiameter smaller than the outer diameter of the end portion 212 a of thefollower pin 212. That is, the small diameter hole portion 213 c has adiameter that prevents the end portion 212 a from penetratingtherethrough.

Moreover, the stopper plate 213 is provided with a guide groove portion213 f formed so as to connect the large diameter hole portion 213 b tothe small diameter hole portion 213 c. The guide groove portion 213 fhas a width smaller than the inner diameter of the small diameter holeportion 213 c. The large diameter hole portion 213 b, the small diameterhole portion 213 c and the guide groove portion 213 f are each providedwith tapered faces 213 e formed so as to open toward the follower pin212.

In the click-ON state illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 8A, the ball 210 biasedby the biasing force generated by the spring 211 engages with the firstconcave portion 207 c 1 of the switching lever 207 and contacts thetapered faces 207 e of the first concave portion 207 c 1 in a pressedstate. Thus, the switching lever 207 and the stopper plate 213 that areslidable are stably located at the click-ON position P1. At the click-ONposition P1, the end portion 212 a of the follower pin 212 is moved at aposition (protruded position) where the end portion 212 a penetratesthrough the large diameter hole portion 213 b formed at acircumferential positon P1′ equal to that of the first concave portion207 c 1 of the stopper plate 213 and protrudes from the large diameterhole portion 213 b. Then, the end portion 212 a of the follower pin 212contacts the concave portion 220 a and convex portion 220 b (hereinaftercollectively referred to as “concave and convex portions 220 a/b”) ofthe clicking plate 220 in a pressed state. Therefore, the rotation ofthe clicking plate 220 with the operation ring 201 causes the followerpin 212 biased by the spring 211 to fall in and climb on the concave andconvex portions 220 a/b of the clicking plate 220, which generates clickfeeling.

In the click-OFF state illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8B, the ball 210engages with the second concave portion 207 c 2 of the switching lever207 and contacts the tapered faces 207 e of the second concave portion207 c 2 in a pressed state. Thus, the switching lever 207 and thestopper plate 213 that are slidable are stably located at the click-OFFposition P2. At the click-OFF position P2, the end portion 212 a of thefollower pin 212 contacts the tapered faces 213 e in the small diameterhole portion 213 c formed at a circumferential positon P2′ equal to thatof the second concave portion 207 c 2 of the stopper plate 213, whichprevents the end portion 212 a from moving to the above-mentionedprotruded position. That is, the end portion 212 a of the follower pin212 is held at a position away from the concave and convex portions 220a/b of the clicking plate 220. Therefore, the rotation of the clickingplate 220 with the operation ring 201 generates no click feeling. Aspring (211) side part (base end side part) of the follower pin 212nearer than the end portion 212 a has a diameter larger than the innerdiameter of the large diameter hole portion 213 b of the stopper plate213. Therefore, the entire follower pin 212 does not penetrate throughthe large diameter hole portion 213 b. This configuration enableschecking the motion of the switching lever 207 even before the assemblyof the clicking plate 220 to the rear of the stopper plate 213, whichmakes it possible to improve ease of assembly of the front cover unit 2.

While the switching lever 207 is slid from the click-OFF position P2 toan R1 direction illustrated in FIG. 9B and from the click-ON position P1to an R2 direction illustrated in the same drawing, the state of theclick switching mechanism becomes the ON/OFF intermediate stateillustrated in FIGS. 9A to 9C. In this ON/OFF intermediate state, theball 210 contacts the tapered faces 207 e of the guide groove portion207 d in the switching lever 207. Furthermore, in the end portion 212 aof the follower pin 212 a part other than an endmost face (hereinafterreferred to as “a clicking contact face”) that contacts the concave andconvex portions 220 a/b of the clicking plate 220 contacts the taperedfaces 213 e of the guide groove portion 213 f of the stopper plate 213.With this configuration, as well as in the click-OFF state, the endportion 212 a of the follower pin 212 is held at the position away fromthe concave and convex portions 220 a/b of the clicking plate 220. Theclicking contact face of the follower pin 212 is an important portionthat contacts the concave and convex portions 220 a/b of the clickingplate 220 to set the click feeling. Therefore, this embodiment providesthe guide groove portion 213 f to the stopper plate 213 to prevent theclicking contact face from abrading away by its slide with respect tothe stopper plate 213. That is, this embodiment prevents the clickingcontact face from contacting the stopper plate 213. In addition,providing the guide groove portion 213 f decreases the biasing force ofthe spring 211, which enables lightening operation feeling during theswitching.

When the switching lever 207 is operated from the click-ON position P1to the click-OFF position P2 (this operation is hereinafter referred toas “a click-OFF operation”), it is necessary to move the ball 210 awayfrom the first concave portion 207 c 1. Furthermore, it is necessary tolargely compress the spring 211 such that the end portion 212 a of thefollower pin 212 climbs on the guide groove portion 213 d from the stateof penetrating through the large diameter hole portion 213 b of thestopper plate 213. Accordingly, a large operating force may be required.

On the other hand, when the switching lever 207 is operated from theclick-OFF position P2 to the click-ON position P1 (this operation ishereinafter referred to as “a click-ON operation”), it is also necessaryto move the ball 210 away from the second concave portion 207 c 2.Furthermore, it is necessary to largely compress the spring 211 suchthat the end portion 212 a of the follower pin climbs on the guidegroove portion 213 d from the small diameter hole portion 213 c of thestopper plate 213. However, in order to cause the end portion 212 a ofthe follower pin 212 falling in the small diameter hole portion 213 c toclimb on the guide groove portion 213 d, it is enough to compress thespring 211 by a small amount. Therefore, only a smaller operating forcethan for the click-OFF operation is necessary. That is, the click-OFFoperation may generate an operation load larger than that in theclick-ON operation.

However, it is desirable that a difference in operation loads betweenthe click-ON operation and the click-OFF operation be small, and it ismore desirable that the operation loads therebetween be equivalent toeach other. Thus, in this embodiment, a depth of the first concaveportion 207 c 1 of the switching lever 207 is larger than that of thesecond concave portion 207 c 2.

The depth of the first concave portion 207 c 1 larger than that of thesecond concave portion 207 c 2 increases a length of the spring 211 inthe click-ON state. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce a forcenecessary to compress the spring 211 when the end portion 212 a of thefollower pin 212 climbs on the guide groove portion 213 d from the largediameter hole portion 213 b of the stopper plate 213. As a result, it ispossible to make the operation load (that is, the operating force) forthe OFF operation close to or equivalent to that for the click-ONoperation. However, it is necessary that the length of the spring 211 inthe click-ON state generate an appropriate click feeling (click load)for the rotation operation of the operation ring 201.

In order to decrease the difference in the operation loads between theclick-OFF operation and the click-ON operation or make the operationloads therebetween equivalent to each other, other methods may be usedinstead of the method of making the depth of the first concave portion207 c 1 larger than that of the second concave portion 207 c 2 or withthat method. For example, a method may be used that makes a taper angle(that is, a tilt angle with respect to the slide direction) of eachtapered face 207 e of the second concave portion 207 c 2 of theswitching lever 207 larger than that of the first concave portion 207 c1 so as to increase a load for the ball 210 escaping from the secondconcave portion 207 c 2.

Furthermore, this embodiment provides to the switching lever 207 theguide groove portion 207 d formed so as to connect the first and secondconcave portions 207 c 1 and 207 c 2, which enables making behaviors ofthe ball 210 in the click-OFF and click-ON operations. Especially, asdescribed above, when setting the depth of the first concave portion 207c 1 to be larger than that of the second concave portion 207 c 2,changing (decreasing) the depth of the guide groove portion 207 dgradually from the first concave portion 207 c 1 enables providing asmooth operation feeling.

Although this embodiment described the case of disposing the ball 210 onthe switching lever (207) side and disposing the follower pin 212 on thestopper plate (213) side. However, a ball may be used instead of thefollower pin 212, and a follower pin may be used instead of the ball210. Moreover, a configuration may be employed in which a follower pinis disposed on the switching lever side and a ball is disposed on thestopper plate side. In the case of using the ball 210, since when theswitching lever 207 is slid, the ball 210 not only is moved along theguide groove portion 207 d but also rolls itself, which provides asmoother operation feeling.

In the case of using the follower pin 212, whereas its end portion 212 ahas a semispherical shape, the other portion than the end portion 212 ahas a cylindrical shape, so that the follower pin 212 can have anarbitrary set length. Thus, it is possible to acquire a sufficientengagement length of the follower pin 212 with respect to thethrough-hole portion 208 a of the base member 208. In addition, asillustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the follower pin 212 has a shaft portion212 b inserted inside the spring 211.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, after the switching lever 207 isassembled to the base member 208 and the barrel cover 202 is fixed tothe base member 208 with the screws 219, the ball 210, the spring 211and the follower pin 212 are inserted in this order from the rear sideinto the through-hole portion 208 a of the base member 208. If thefollower pin 212 finally inserted is replaced by the ball 210, thestopper plate 213 is assembled in a state where the ball 210 is disposedon a rear end of the spring 211 inserted inside the through-hole portion208 a of the base member 208. However, this configuration biases theball 210 toward the stopper plate 213, so that the ball 210 inevitablyprotrudes from the rear end opening of the through-hole portion 208 a ofthe base member 208.

Thus, depending on a natural length the spring 211, the ball 210 may beinserted only by a small amount into the through-hole portion 208 a ofthe base member 208. In this case, at the assembly of the stopper plate213, the ball 210 is likely to drop off from the base member 208.Therefore, this embodiment uses not the ball but the follower pin 212 toacquire the sufficient engagement length of the follower pin 212 withrespect to the through-hole portion 208 a of the base member 208 andfurther inserts the shaft portion 212 b into the spring 211. Thisconfiguration makes it possible to improve ease of assembly andstability of the click switching mechanism.

FIG. 10 illustrates the switching lever 207 assembled to the barrelholding portion 208 e of the base member 208 in the front cover unit 2.The switching lever 207 has a circular-arc shape extending along thebarrel cover 202 and slides in the circumferential direction with beingguided by the guide groove portion 208 a formed in a circular-arc shapein the barrel holding portion 208 e.

In an area A1 illustrated in FIG. 10, when the switching lever 207 ismoved between the click-ON position and the click-OFF position, theclick switching mechanism (the ball 210, the spring 211, the followerpin 212 and the stopper plate 213) is located (moved). In an area A2,when the switching lever 207 is moved between the click-ON position andthe click-OFF position, a portion of the switching lever mechanism atwhich the operation knob 207 a is provided, that is, a main body portionof the switching lever 207 is located (moved). This embodiment, arrangesthe areas A1 and A2 in the circumferential direction to dispose theseareas A1 and A2 within a radial thickness of the barrel cover 202, thatis, within a radial thickness of the operation ring 201.

In terms of force transmission, providing the operation knob 207 a ofthe switching lever 207 at a center of the area A1 where the clickswitching mechanism is disposed enables transmitting an operating forceto the switching lever 207 with no loss of the force. However, employingsuch a configuration requires providing a wall for connecting theoperation knob 207 a on outside of a side face portion 207 f of theswitching lever 207, which increases in radial size by a thickness ofthe wall and thereby the switching lever 207 cannot be disposed withinthe radial thickness of the operation ring 201.

Furthermore, if the operation knob 207 a is connected to the side faceportion 207 f of the barrel cover 202 illustrated in FIG. 9B, it isnecessary to form, at a part of the barrel cover 202 along the side faceportion 207 f, a cutout portion corresponding to the nob cutout portion202 a illustrated in FIG. 5. Such a cutout portion makes an inside ofthe switching lever 207 visible from outside. Accordingly, it isnecessary to provide, around the side face portion 207 f, a wall formaking the inside invisible from the outside, which increases in radicalsize by a thickness of the wall. For these reasons, the area A1 wherethe click switching mechanism is disposed and the area A2 where theoperation knob 207 a is disposed are desirable to be arranged in thecircumferential direction.

FIG. 11A illustrates, of the front cover unit 2, the base member 208,the barrel cover 202 and the operation ring 201, which are separate fromeach other. The click switching mechanism (switching lever 207 andothers) is assembled to the barrel holding portion 208 d of the basemember 208.

In the front cover unit 2, a user's right hand that grips the camera 1contacts a grip portion 203 a and an extended grip portion 203 b of thefront grip 203; the extended grip portion 203 b is extended to avicinity of the operation ring 201. The grip portion 203 a and theextended grip portion 203 b each have a cushioning characteristic.Gripping the camera 1 so as to wrap the grip portion 203 a by aright-hand palm and so as to support the extended grip portion 203 b byright-hand fingers enables providing an improved camera holding feeling

As described above, the front grip 203 is fixed to the base member 208with the screws 209 after being temporarily fixed to the front cover 205with the double-stick tape 204. However, of the front grip 203, only apart around the grip portion 203 a where sufficient depths of holesbefore threading for the screws 209 can be acquired is solidly fixed tothe base member 208. Especially, of the extended grip portion 203 b, apart near the operation ring 201 is fixed only by the double-stick tape204, which may provide an insufficient fixing strength. Therefore, thisembodiment uses, of the barrel holding portion 208 d of the base member208 and the barrel cover 202, other areas than the areas sandwiching theswitching lever 207 to fix the extended grip portion 203 b to the basemember 208. That is, of the front grip 203, a circular-arc edge portion(exterior member side end portion) 203 c extending along the barrelcover 202 (and the operation ring 201) is sandwiched by the barrelholding portion 208 d and the barrel cover 202.

FIG. 11B illustrates the barrel cover 202 from the rear side. At threecircumferential positions of the barrel cover 202, protruding portions202 b are provided that overlap the edge portion 203 c of the front grip203. With this configuration, fixing the front grip 203 to the basemember 208 with the above-described screws 219 enables solidly fixingthe grip portion 203 a and the extended grip portion 203 b of the frontgrip 203 to the base member 208.

FIG. 12A illustrates the front cover 205 viewed from the front side whenthe switching lever 207 is removed from the front cover unit 2. In afront face of the base member 208, a triangle-like shaped protrudingportion 208 b is formed so as to protrude toward the front side. Thefront cover 205 includes a through-hole portion (protrusion openingportion) 205 a through which the protruding portion 208 b penetrates.

Upper and lower parts of FIG. 12B respectively illustrate a relationbetween the protruding portion 208 b and the operation knob 207 a of theswitching lever 207 located at the click-ON position P1 and a relationtherebetween in which the switching lever 207 located at the click-OFFposition P2. The protruding portion 208 b is located behind theoperation knob 207 a in both a state where the operation knob 207 a isoperated in the R1 direction to reach the click-ON position P1 and astate where the operation knob 207 a is operated in the R2 direction toreach the click-OFF position P2.

Thus, the protruding portion 208 b is not visible from the front side.This protruding portion 208 b is provided in order to receive, by thebase member 208, the operation knob 207 a deformed by a user's pressingforce from the front side toward the rear side so as to prevent theoperation knob 207 a from contacting the front cover 205.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 12A, the switching lever 207 includes aprotruding portion 207 h formed on a rear face of a connecting portion207 g that extends from inside the barrel cover 202 to the operationknob 207 a. Furthermore, the base member 208 also includes a protrudingportion 208 c formed so as to receive the protruding portion 207 h.Thus, when the operation knob 207 a is deformed by being pressed fromthe front side toward the rear side, the operation knob 207 a and theconnecting portion 207 g are respectively received by the protrudingportion 208 b and the protruding portion 208 c.

Next, description will be made of electrical conductivity of the frontcover unit 2 with referring to FIGS. 13, 14A and 14B. FIG. 13illustrates, of the front cover unit 2, a part around theabove-described sheet-metal member 214 viewed from the rear side. FIGS.14A and 14B illustrate electrical conductive paths in the front coverunit 2.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the sheet-metal member 214 as an electricconductive member is positioned and mounted (fixed) to the front face(outer face) of the base member 208 with a screw 215 and thereby iselectrically conductive to the base member 208. Arm portions (contactportions) 214 a, 214 b and 214 c of the sheet-metal member 214respectively contact the front cover 205, the clicking plate 220 and aside face portion 207 i (illustrated in FIG. 9B) of the switching lever207 in a pressed state by biasing forces generated by their elasticdeformation. With this configuration, the sheet-metal member 214electrically conductively contacts the front cover 205, electricallyconductively contacts the clicking plate 220 in its entire rotatablerange and electrically conductively contacts the switching lever 207 inits entire movable range.

As respectively illustrated in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the electricalconductive paths in the camera 1 are changed between in the click-ONstate and the click-OFF state. In the click-ON state illustrated in FIG.14A, the switching lever 207, the ball 210, the spring 211, the followerpin 212 and the stopper plate 213, which are metal componentsconstituting the click switching mechanism, contact one another to beelectrically conductive to one another. Furthermore, the operation ring201 and the clicking plate 220 sandwiching this click switchingmechanism therebetween are integrally connected with each other, and thefollower pin 212 contacts the clicking plate 220. With thisconfiguration, the click switching mechanism, the operation ring 201 andthe clicking plate 220 are all electrically conductive to one another.In addition, the arm portion 214 a of the sheet-metal member 214contacts the front cover 205, and the arm portion 214 b contacts theclicking plate 220, so that all the metal components in the front coverunit 2 are electrically conductive to the front cover 205. Moreover, thefront cover unit 2 is electrically connected to all other metalcomponents in the camera 1 through the front cover 205.

On the other hand, also in the click-OFF state illustrated in FIG. 14B,the switching lever 207, the ball 210, the spring 211 and the stopperplate 213, which constitute the click switching mechanism, areelectrically conductive to one another. However, since the follower pin212 does not contact the clicking plate 220 integrally connected withthe operation ring 201, the click switching mechanism may beelectrically isolated. Against this problem, since in this embodimentthe arm portion 214 c of the sheet-metal member 214 contacts the sideface portion 207 i of the switching lever 207, all the metal componentsof the front cover unit 2 are electrically conductive to the front cover205. The front cover unit 2 is electrically connected to all other metalcomponents in the camera 1 through the front cover 205.

As just described, this embodiment avoids the click switching mechanismbeing electrically isolated in both the click-ON and click-OFF states,by only using one sheet-metal member 214, which enables keeping thefront cover unit 2 in an electrically stable state.

As described above, this embodiment achieves a compact camera allowingeasily switching between the click-ON state and the click-OFF state by auser's operation of the operation knob 207 a from outside the camera. Inother words, it is possible to switch between generation andnon-generation of the click feeling for a user's rotation operation ofthe rotatable operation member in response to a user's simple hand(finger) operation of the operation knob disposed at the outercircumference of the exterior member.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2015-246534, filed on Dec. 17, 2015, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

1. An image capturing apparatus comprising: a lens barrel member housingan image capturing optical system; a base member; a rotatable operationmember disposed outside the base member and rotatable with respect tothe base member; a clicking member disposed inside the base member,rotatable together with the rotatable operation member and havingconcave and convex portions arranged in a circumferential direction; aswitching operation member provided with an operation knob located at anouter circumference of the lens barrel member and movable with respectto the base member between a first position and a second position in thecircumferential direction; a pressing member held by the base memberand; and a stopper member movable together with the switching operationmember with respect to the base member, wherein, when the switchingoperation member is located at the first position, the pressing memberis in a click-ON state of contacting the concave and convex portions,and when the switching operation member is located at the secondposition, the pressing member is in a click-OFF state of contacting thestopper member and being held at a position away from the concave andconvex portions, and wherein the rotatable operation member is rotatablein a circumferential direction of the lens barrel member and a rotationoperation of the rotatable operation member changes image capturingparameters.
 2. (canceled)
 3. An image capturing apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the stopper member includes (a) a first opening portionallowing the pressing member to pass therethrough to a protrusionposition at which the pressing member contacts the concave and convexportions when the switching operation member is located at the firstposition and (b) a second opening portion preventing the pressing memberfrom passing therethrough to the protrusion position when the switchingoperation member is located at the second position.
 4. An imagecapturing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the stopper memberincludes, between the first opening portion and the second openingportion, a groove portion for preventing an endmost face of the pressingmember from sliding with respect to the stopper member while preventingthe pressing member from passing through the stopper member to theprotrusion position. 5-12. (canceled)